The Meet-Up
by Aurorellin
Summary: After almost a year away from her friends, Rory finally arrive back in LA, but actually meeting her friends wasn't the plan. She wasn't even supposed to be at the convention at all, but she had to see them one last time. Unfortunately, Jack spotted her in the crowd and dragged her backstage to meet the rest again, but that included Mark as well and her heart dropped with guilt.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The entire room was filled to the brim with people who wanted to meet the Youtubers that were supposed to sit behind some tables at the very end by some huge signs. Fans were almost jumping over each other just to get through to the front and there was loud screams for different Youtubers. They hadn't come out yet, but they would any second to sign stuff and talk to their fans. I took that time to just observe the people around me from beneath my caps to hide my face. Big plushies of Sam Septiceye and Tiny-Box Tim were being thrown around the room and shirts of all kinds with logos on them could easily be seen through the packed crowd. Suddenly, screams started to rise in the front of the room, which soon spread across the whole room, as a couple of familiar faces came walking towards the tables with big grins. Jack's green hair was easy to spot and so was Felix's, or Pewdiepie's, flaming printed shirt, and the last in line was Mark with his red fiery hair and my heart skipped a beat. The crowd pushed forward as I was supposed to turn and go out of the room, but it ended with that I was just pushed further and further forth. In the end, I was almost at the front, squeezing myself against the wall to prevent getting even closer to the tables. Why had I even bothered coming? Why couldn't I just stay at home for once? I pulled my caps even further down, trying to blend in, but of course, someone spotted me. Jack's eyes lit up as he met my eyes and waved at me, but the fan in front of him luckily captured his attention again. I leaned against the wall, hoping that the signing would soon be over, so I could get the heck out of there.

The screaming and shouting became more silent as the crowd became smaller and smaller, but I could still not get to any of the exits. The closest one was right beside the signing tables, but then I would definitely be seen.

Luckily, someone had heard my escape prayers and a miracle appeared as the speakers in the room boomed with the sound of a woman's voice. "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. There will be a 10 minute break at the signing. We encourage you all to step outside the room for a moment until the signing starts again."

I was still pressed against the wall as the crowd came with disappointing sighs and groans, but unwillingly left the room. Unfortunately, I was one of the last ones to start going out, and just as I thought I'd managed to escape, a familiar voice called out my name.

"Aurora!" Jack called out from the tables as I slowly turned around in the middle of the half empty room. "Rory! Hi!" He made a sign for me to come up to him, and I couldn't just walk away from him, so with a nervous smile, I walked towards my green haired friend.

"Hi, Jack." I said as I hugged him. It had been awhile since I'd seen him in person, almost a year. He still smelled the same though, like vanilla and a hint of something I could never quite identify. In that moment I discovered how much I had really missed him. "How are you?" I asked as we pulled away from each other.

"I'm great." He said with his chipper voice. "How are you? It's been a while since I've seen you." I nodded and bit my lip in nervousness. My eyes scanned the room for Mark, but he was nowhere to be seen. Like he could read my mind, Jack said: "He isn't here. He went to the bathroom." The chipperness in Jack's voice faded just a little bit as he said it, but I just plastered a smile on my face and shook my head.

"I wasn't looking for him. I…I was looking for Marzia." I lied, which I was 80% sure that Jack knew, but still he didn't comment about it. "It's been a long time since I've seen her and I wanted to say hello. Is Signe here as well?" Jack seemed to forget about everything as soon as someone mentioned Signe, his girlfriend's, name. His kind of worried look got replaced by his happy eyes again.

"Yeah! They're both in the back." Jack said and signaled for me to follow him. "I think Felix is there too and Mark should be there soon as well." The sound of Mark's name made my heart sink in my chest with guilt, anger and sadness. Oh, what have I gotten myself into now?

With my hands trembling from nervousness, I followed Jack through a door which led into a white and blue room with two comfortable looking couches and a table filled with water bottles and candy, and in the room stood three people that I had missed as well. Signe was the first one to see me and jumped up from one of the couches with a grin. In that moment, I realized how much alike Signe and Jack was, with their big dorky grin, love of puns and the constant chipperness.

"Rory!" She said as she almost skipped towards me and threw herself into my arms. Marzia was the next to join in on the hug, quickly followed by Jack and Felix. Laughter and weird noises rose from our little group hug, but I felt at home again.

"I've missed you all so much!" I said and the hug got tighter around me. The people around me had been my family for about 8 months, and they had been the best. I truly missed the hugs, the late night movies and long gaming sessions, but there was still one missing from our little family, and just as the thought crossed my mind, his voice rose from behind me.

"Who are we hugging?" Mark called out, and the noises stopped along with every muscle in my body. My friends, one by one, let go of me and looked at Mark who became more and more nervous. My eyes met Mark's and so many emotions were transferred in that moment. It was completely silent; the only noise came from the crowds in the distance.

"Hi, Mark." I said, but he was already headed for the exit and disappeared. I closed her eyes with a sigh, trying to hold back the stinging tears I knew wanted out, but I wouldn't let them. I turned slowly around to face the group behind me who was exchanging looks between the door and me.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"I'll talk to him." Felix said and walked out the door Mark had moments before with Jack following him. I knew it was a stupid idea to come and now I probably ruined it for the fans as well with Mark's mood.

"It will be fine." Marzia said and pulled me into a hug again. "He'll come around." The girls sat me down in one of the couches and looked at me. It was kind of awkward at first, but after a while, we quickly fell into our old tracks and the conversation went easy. "So, what are you doing here in LA?"

"Yeah, I thought you were going to stay in New York for another year." Signe said in between sips of her water bottle. I looked down on my hands and didn't know what to say. Should I lie or tell them the truth?

"I…ehm…I'm writing an article about VidCon." I lied with a nervous smile to my friends and the girls nodded back. "My boss knows that I know you guys and he sent me in hopes of maybe getting an interview from some of you." My stomach tied itself up in a knot with the lie I was telling, but I couldn't tell them the truth.

"Well, I know that the boys would love to help you out with that and we will as well." Signe said with a big smile with Marzia nodding in agreement. I was about to say something else, but suddenly the speaker above my head turned on with a static noise before the same woman's voice came through again.

"The signing in room 7B is now open. We ask that everybody will go calmly in to the room. Thank you."

"I should probably get out of here before it gets too crazy." I said and stood up from the couch along with the other girls, both with kind of disappointed faces, and it made it just harder.

"Hey, maybe we can meet later." Marzia said and her frown turned into a hopeful smile. I suddenly froze in place. "You can come and meet us back at the hotel, and we can have a horror movie marathon like the old days." I didn't know what to answer. Should I say yes or no? I was already in too deep, but what could one night do?

"Well, I do love horror movies." I said slowly and felt a smile creep on my lips. The girls squealed along with me and we hugged one last time before I headed for the door that led out to the signing area again.

"Come around 10:00 pm!" Marzia called after me as I opened the door and screams hit me like a wall.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world!" I said over the screams before I waved and went out the door. Again, the room was filled to the brim with people, but this time, they had made path to the exit. As I closed the door behind me and looked over the crowd, my eyes landed on the stage and I saw the boys talking with fans, and I just stopped and stared. It was so…touching to just see them interacting with them that I forgot to actually leave, so I stood by the door, probably looking like a lost baby. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Mark looked directly at me and it seemed like the whole world stopped, just for a second. Like it was no one else in the room except us and time was irrelevant, but as much as I wanted to continue looking at him, I looked away. I was in way too deep now, so I pulled my cap down and headed for the exit.

The sun was shining brightly outside my motel window, making everything seem so happy and joyful everywhere else, than in my room. I had pulled the curtains together and turned every light off, so I could try to get some sleep. The flight from North Carolina took off at 4 am and I didn't get any sleep on the plane or when I arrived in LA, plus I was staying up late tonight, so I should get some sleep. I lay sprawled on the bed and closed my eyes, but sleep wouldn't come. My body was so tired, but my mind was restless. I tossed and turned, for at least an hour, before I gave up and reached for my phone on the nightstand. The clock showed 5:30 pm and I sighed with annoyance.

"Whoever invented time was a real douchebag." I mumbled and unlocked my phone. My eyes scanned the screen, and for some reason, they landed on the pictures icon. Slowly, I touched the picture icon and looked at one folder I hadn't opened in a very long time. It was titled 'LA', just that, but it had over 350 pictures in it. My finger was hovering over the folder as I bit my lip. Should I open it?

With another annoyed sigh, I went out of the app and locked my phone, put it on my nightstand and turned around in the bed. No, I couldn't go back to all those memories, not now, but I didn't have the heart to delete them either. I pulled my knees up to my chest and curled myself into a ball, trying to get my mind to go blank, so I could finally get some sleep. Though the pillows were flat, the bedsheets were thin and the mattress was stone hard, I somehow managed to finally drift off to sleep.

Later that night, I arrived at the hotel Marzia and Signe was staying at with the boys. It wasn't completely dark out yet, but the sun was slowly going down behind the tall buildings and people were standing in line outside nearby clubs. I knocked at Marzia's hotel room door and waited. Maybe I shouldn't do this. Maybe I should have cancelled or something. Just as I started having second thoughts, the door opened and the smiling brunette was standing there.

"You made it!" Marzia beamed and grabbed my hand before she practically dragged me inside the room. Signe was sitting on the bed in the middle of the room, looking through different horror movies on Netflix.

"Hey! What do you want to watch?" She asked as I sat down beside her with Marzia next to me. We were all leaned against the headboard of the bed, but if this night was anything like they used to be, we would soon be under the blankets and laughing at jumpscares.

"How about a classy one? Like Chucky?" Marzia suggested while she reached for the Ipad in Signe's hands, but she pushed them away. "Or Halloween?"

"How about we watch Annabell?" I suggested and threw my jacket on the floor as I kicked off my shoes, while Marzia grabbed the covers and pulled it over our legs. Suddenly, it was old times again, like when we were sitting in Signe and Jack's apartment on the outside of LA or in Marzia and Felix's little house right by it.

"Yes! Let's do it!" Marzia said and Signe hit the play button. From there, everything went automatically. We leaned on each other while eating popcorn and pointing out little mistakes in the movie, all along while we were fighting about who were more likely to die at the end of the movie. Suddenly, we heard a knock at the door and all three of us turned our head. Signe paused the movie and I could feel all of us tensing up. Marzia exchanged a look with both of us, like a silent agreement for her to answer the door since she was closest to it, before she jumped out of the bed and walked with silent steps towards the door. Both Signe and I sat up in the bed to get a better view to the door, but I grabbed Signe's hand just for safety. Marzia grabbed the handle and opened the door, and suddenly, Felix appeared with a clown mask on and made a hideous scream.

"What the hell are you doing?" Signe asked when he was done. Marzia pulled the mask of his head and rolled her eyes at him with a smile.

"We were trying to scare you." Felix laughed and Jack came up behind him, laughing as well.


End file.
